A review of the audiobook Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death for you to digest in 42 seconds*.
As the first novel in this series, we meet Agatha Raisin as she decides to retire from her profitable London PR company and move to the Cotswolds. She’s a bristling, unapologetic, slightly manipulative character, with a sharp eye and a sharper tongue.
If Agatha is a great character, she’s an even better plot device. Her brusqueness ruffles feathers, her curiosity causes ructions and her competitiveness results in …. death. M. C Beaton brilliantly uses Raisin and the cast of ancillary characters to pastiche idyllic country life and to relay acerbic observations around modern living.
The success of this as an audiobook can almost wholly be attributed to Penelope Keith’s narration – her words effortlessly drip with irony. The simplicity of the plot and the unadorned writing also contributes to this being a great audio choice.
For an escapist, easy-‘read’ in the vein of Alexander McCall Smith, Quiche of Death is perfect. It won’t change your life, but it will make you smile.
*An adult reads on average around 250 words per minute, or approximately 175 words in 42 seconds. The perfect length for a micro-review.
